Sakina let go after awhile of just hanging on and wiped under her eyes. Link smiled uncertainly at her and pat her shoulder awkwardly.
"What are you wearing?" He asked, looking at her curiously. "Where's your tunic?"
"Well, unlike yours, mine didn't grow with me. And I lived with the Gerudos. You know who I'm talking about?" Sakina babbled, torn between excitement and fear to believe that her greatest friend had returned.
"Those warrior women?" Link frowned.
"Yup." Sakina nodded, surveying Link carefully. "I can't believe you're taller than me."
"Haha." He grinned at her.
"We should probably leave here." Sakina said after a few moments of silence. "But be careful. There are ReDead in the Market."
"What? Where is everyone?" He was aghast.
"Kakariko." Sakina shook her head, realizing that he was still nine deep down. He hadn't been around for all of this. She knew what it was like to feel so alone that one might collapse. How frightened he felt, she didn't know. "Ganondorf… a lot happened while you were gone." She said softly. Once they snuck through the dark and nearly empty Market, they stopped in Hyrule field. "Where are we going, ultimately, do you know?" She asked. "I mean, obviously you're supposed to be the hero and stuff, so I just wondered."
"Yeah… we're supposed to get the Forest Medallion. So I guess we have to go to the Kokiri Forest." He was watching her as though he was still trying to connect her to the nine-year-old he had lived with once. Sakina, feeling extremely self-conscious, looked down and saw the purple she was wearing, was all too aware of her gaudy earrings and the hair that was hanging loose around her back.
"So… I guess we should go then." Sakina muttered. He strode slightly behind her. She removed her earrings and threw them in her bag. She had never liked earrings anyway. The piercing had hurt. Out of her bag she withdrew the brush and started to braid her hair properly.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Your hair looks pretty down."
"I can't very well fight with my hair down." Sakina looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Then why was it down in the first place?" He strode next to her so he could look her in the face. Sakina was having trouble remembering who he was. He seemed like a man now. Furthermore, he was handsome, and Sakina felt most men, especially handsome ones, to be conceited and arrogant. A stream of thought was flowing through her confused brain.
"It's my sixteenth birthday today, Link. That means the Gerudos sent me out to… um… look pretty." She finished lamely.
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter." She finished braiding her hair and replaced her brush in her sack.
Link fell into silence once more.
"You're a lot different," he finally spoke.
"Seven years can change a girl. Not everyone was frozen by time." She snapped. When she saw his hurt face, she quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. This can't be easy for you. It sure as Farore isn't easy for me."
They walked in silence for a time, both chewing on these bizarre happenings of now.
"What's that on your neck?" Link asked, stepping closer to her. He touched it carefully. Sakina grabbed his hand and pulled it slowly away.
"Do you remember grabbing that sword, Link?" Sakina asked in a low and cautious tone. "The one in the stone?" Link nodded, holding onto her hand as they used to do. Sakina's heart fell as she remembered how innocent she had once been.
"Ganondorf was waiting for you to do that. And his men captured me." Sakina's face was hardened with memory. "It's a pity Link is dead. He might have told me more." Sakina fell silent.
"What did they do?" Link asked, frowning.
"Do you know what torture is, Link?" She whipped around to face him and squeezed both of his hands, staring at him in the eyes so fiercely that he blushed. "Four days, Link. Four days, I was in that castle. I waited for you! You never came…." Sakina wasn't crying, but her breathing was spastic. "I was only nine. And…." She couldn't bring herself to say more.
Link seemed to realize suddenly what had happened to her.
"I'm sorry." He said, looking down. "I didn't know."
"I know." Sakina sighed, dropping his hands. "It's not your fault."
Link walked next to her with a gray face. He took her hand awkwardly again. Their hands used to be the same size but now his was larger and squarer. Hers were the more slender hands of a woman, even if they were the calloused hands of a warrior as well, and he didn't know what to think of it. He wanted to know what had happened the seven years he was gone. He could tell she wasn't ready to talk about it properly. They got to the entrance to Kokiri and the sun was low in the sky, ready to set.
"We're going to have to sleep tonight." Sakina said as they walked into the tunnel. "Before we go to find the Forest Medallion." Sakina stopped abruptly on the bridge. Link saw her grab the rope on the side as though it were a lifeline and hold on, staring into nothing. "What were we getting ourselves into?" She whispered.
"I don't know," Link responded. Squeezing her hand seemed the logical thing to do.
Sakina looked back to him with a smile on her face.
"This might have been so much easier if I had known you would return today." Sakina's voice cracked with hesitancy. Link's free hand grabbed Sakina's shoulder and he pulled her towards himself for a hug. She buried her face in his neck, searching for a familiarity that had long ago faded. She pushed herself away. "I can't… not here. We have to go inside." She released his hand on instinct. "Are you coming?" She asked, turning to watch Link as he stared at her in disbelief and confusion.
He nodded and followed her into what once was their home.
Inside, nobody was outside. There were dangers that hadn't been there before.
Chi---chi----chiiiii!
It was unusual for everyone to be inside at this hour. The place was gloomy and forsaken. It was absolutely heart-rending for Link to see. He thought that he might burst with sadness. Sakina closed her eyes for a second, wondering at the daunted innocence of this forest. Shaking herself, Sakina started forward again, an inner-voice remarking sourly on her weakness.
"I smell Ganondorf all over this one," Sakina growled, withdrawing her sword to tackle a Deku Baba that was twice her height. "Gods, I can't believe that they got bigger too." She said with disgust, leaving the stick it had become behind. Link's house was closest and larger than Sakina's had been, so that was where they went.
"After you," Link motioned automatically.
"Charming," Sakina said, cocking an eyebrow. She climbed up the ladder and went into his room. "Amazing how much smaller it looks now, isn't it?" Link was leaning on his sword and surveying the place.
"I guess I really have gotten taller." Link shrugged. "I feel so different, Kina, I just don't understand."
Sakina smiled reassuringly, not knowing what else to do. Digging around in her pack for food, she came across her green Gerudo garment. Certainly more suitable for the forest than the purple monstrosity she was wearing. Though, it was rather lovely…. Sakina shook her head at herself. Was she becoming feminine? Would she soon be seeking men? Ah! A ghastly thought! Never.
"Do me a favor, won't you?" She asked finally. "Turn around while I get changed."
Link turned slowly to face a corner. Sakina took off her boots and pants and switched them quickly. She had to untie the top at her neck and undo it. Whipping her braid over her shoulder, she took the green cloth and tied her new top tightly into place. She turned back and caught Link as he twisted quickly back to face the corner.
"You were peeking!" She laughed. "You little twerp."
Link smiled wryly. "I wish I hadn't," he said in a joking manner. "I thought you were done." He lied, feeling himself tingling in an odd way he had never before experienced.
Sakina rolled her eyes. "It's not such a great deal, I suppose. You just caught a glimpse of my back, after all."
But Link was afraid that something was wrong, because now his body was reacting in really strange, confusing ways. He felt very warm suddenly and all he wanted to do was grab Sakina and kiss her. Looking down, he suddenly saw that he had reached for her… and it wasn't with his arms. He sat down quickly to hide it, his face violently red with embarrassment.
"What's wrong?" Sakina said, sitting down across from him with crossed legs. She threw her bag and boots to the side of the room. "Did you just pee yourself or something? Gods, I can't imagine how full your bladder must be after seven years of sleeping."
Link pressed his lips together, afraid of what he might say. Navi popped out of his pack and began to fly around his head, saying nothing but turning pink every so often, as though she too felt ill.
"If you need to go and do your business, I'll keep watch if you're really worried." Sakina couldn't understand what was going on because of his awkward silence. Navi's odd behavior perplexed her even more.
"It's not that!" He burst out suddenly. "Did you curse me or something for looking at you?"
"What?" Her eyes widened. "No! Of course not! I can't do magic." She crawled over to him. "Are you ill?" She pressed her lips to his forehead, like Kynthia had done to her when she was sick. "You feel warm, but nothing exceptional. Maybe too much sun in one day…." She saw that he was looking in horror at her. "Link, tell me what's wrong. I have potions in my pack if you're burned somewhere or something. I can't help you if you stay so quiet. Has my face changed color or something?"
"I…." Link swallowed. "I'm having some odd… urges." He finally breathed.
"Like?" Then her eyes widened, and to his utter astonishment, she burst out laughing. "Of course! You've gone from nine to sixteen in what you think is a day! Gods above, help me, I'm sorry…." Sakina then blushed.
"It's okay then?" He breathed, unfolding his legs slowly. Sakina couldn't help but look, but a fire had come to her cheeks as well. Navi, knowing suddenly what was happening, buried herself back in Link's pack.
"It's perfectly natural. You just can't… be sharing this sort of information with everyone. You're lucky I'm your best friend or I might be horrified."
"So what's happening? And how do I make this go away?"
"Before I explain anything to you, think of a bearded lady from Kakariko kissing you." Sakina had heard so much about the male version of Nayru's Gift that she felt like she was almost an expert, except she had never seen anything. She watched Link's face contort in disgust and he fell back down. "Okay, you're ready to hear this, I think." So, a few minutes later, she had gone through the matters of the wild with Link, explaining things as little as she had to. Feeling kind of stupid, Link grinned goofily at her.
"Sorry," he said.
"It doesn't matter. I trust you to be a good boy, unlike anyone else." Sakina yawned. "All right, there isn't enough room on your bed for us both, so I'll take the floor and you can have the bed."
Link's eyes were wide. He was sort of afraid to sleep alone. In the past, when he and Sakina shared a bed, he felt safer at night. He watched Sakina spreading her blankets out on the floor and curling up alone.
"I think there's enough room on here," Link said pitifully from his bed. "For both of us, I mean. And I have a big enough pillow for both of us."
"There wouldn't be very much room," Sakina propped herself on her elbow to look at him. "I'm fine down here, don't worry about it. I've slept on much harder surfaces than your carpet and my blankets." She winked at him.
"Please," he finally said. "Can I at least sleep down there with you?"
Sakina was shocked by this request. She very much hoped that this was the nine-year-old inside of him speaking and not the hormonal sixteen-year-old. His blue eyes were so hopeful that she couldn't say no. After all, she had nearly lost him. She never really wanted to let go of him. Losing him again would be terrible, something unthinkable.
"Oh, all right," she pat the ground next to her. "Pull up some blanket."
Link came down with his pillow and curled up next to her. She took his hand and held it until they both fell asleep. She awoke early the next morning, before the sun had even risen, from an old nightmare involving a red hot poker and a laughing face. To see Link lying beside her, rounded next to her, she felt a great sense of things being almost back to normal. She bent down and kissed his cheek, wanting to clam onto him and never let go. But she simply sat by the window and watched the stars.
"He is so lazy, you know." Navi squeaked from the windowsill. "Always sleeping."
"Teenagers do that." Sakina voiced, surprised that Navi was speaking again.
"He just slept away seven years. I thought that he'd be all over being awake, but no." Navi flew around indignantly. "How is it you two grew up? It doesn't seem proper that Kokiri children should grow."
Sakina sighed and leaned her head against the window's frame.
"We're not Kokiri," she said finally.
"What?" Navi squeaked.
"We're Hylians, but we were raised in the forest." Navi fell to rest again, watching Sakina with fascination. "Ganondorf told me and a few facts and sources confirmed it." Sakina blinked as a shooting star flew through the skies. "I've never seen one of those before."
"What?" Navi asked hurriedly.
"A shooting star. Can you believe it? I finally get a wish when everything I wanted has come back to me but innocence. I seem to lose at everything, don't I?"
Navi fell silent, not moving at all but watching her pensively.
"Sometimes I feel shackled to my past." She looked to Navi. "The past where I lost this…" she motioned to Kokiri. "And my purity. Now I know what trouble is and what shadows feel and the tears leave emptiness behind."
"You really have changed," Navi's tone deepened softly.
Sakina smiled wryly as she kept the tears at bay. "Yeah, well… sometimes that sort of thing happens. I'm just afraid to lose…." Sakina turned to look at Link's softly breathing form. "I don't want to wake him up."
Navi shook her wings. "Since when has shouting even woken him?"
"That's true," Sakina chuckled. Then she sighed again. "It's almost more stressful to have him back, honestly. Losing him again would be more than I could take."
"You don't have to worry about that, Kina,"
There was shifting behind her as Link scooted over to be next to her.
"I won't leave you again," he said confidently, putting an arm around her waist.
"I wish I could believe that." Sakina took his hand off of her stomach and held it instead.
"Will you tell me more about being a Hylian?" Link asked.
"So we did wake you." Sakina laughed softly. Sakina took his finger and put it to her Triforce brand and began to tell him about four days in captivity. She didn't look at him at all during this story, instead focusing her blurry eyes on the starry heavens and finished with how the Gerudos found her at last. They didn't speak for a long while. In fact, they barely moved until sunrise when it was time to find the Forest Medallion. Packing up in silence, they ate a light breakfast and hurried to Saria's house. Outside of it stood Henno, throwing punches at an invisible enemy. He turned without looking and threw a punch directly at Sakina, who blocked it instinctively.
"Oh miss, I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Henno groveled.
"Don't worry, Henno. I wouldn't hurt you." Sakina rolled her eyes.
"How do you know my name?" He backed away carefully.
"Doesn't matter," Sakina sighed, feeling suddenly lonely again. "Is Saria home?"
"N-no…." The Kokiri boy stuttered. He was half Sakina's height and was frightened of her. "No! She said she had to go to the Forest Temple in the Lost Woods."
Link and Sakina looked hurriedly at one another and sprinted away.
"All this temple stuff.... It seems to fit together somehow." Sakina muttered as they raced to the Lost Woods. "The Spirit Temple has Nabooru, the Temple of Time had you… now Saria is stuck in the Temple of Forest or whatever."
The Lost Woods was a tricky sort of a place that never stayed quite the same, especially not when the wanderer had a feeling of urgency. When the two entered, they knew they had to clear their minds and ask the woods for help. A calm mind always found what it sought in the Lost Woods. They felt themselves being gently pushed a direction and they followed without hesitation. A few tunnels later, they found themselves face to face… more like face to stomach… with Mido.
"Halt!" He put his arm out. "None can pass here!"
"We can, Mido." Sakina growled. "We need to get in there."
"Saria said no one could go by!" Mido said uncertainly, wondering how she knew his name.
"Well, I'm sure she didn't count on needing rescuing. But she does, so get out of the way."
"Kina," Link grabbed her arm. "Just tell him who we are."
"Fine," she got down onto her knees and looked Mido square in the eye. "Do you remember the fairy-less duo?" Her heart almost started bleeding again, remembering when Mido was her greatest problem. He seemed almost trivial now.
"They're dead," Mido said without much conviction. "They left the forest. They can't be alive."
"Say hello to your two best pals," Sakina motioned to herself and Link. "Sakina, that's me, and Link, that's the rather dashing fellow standing behind me. We need to get in there if your forest has any hope of going back to the way it was."
"You can't be!" Mido cried. "They were Kokiri and Kokiri never grow!"
"Well, we aren't Kokiri. We were just raised here." Sakina explained quickly. "Look, Link, we've really got to get by, can't we just knock him out or something?"
Link shook his head and pulled out his ocarina.
"This doesn't seem like a good time to pull that out." Sakina sighed exasperatedly.
He started to play a tune that she had forgotten a long time ago. Once, when Saria, Link and Sakina were playing in the Sacred Meadow, Saria had taught Link how to play it on her ocarina. Sakina tried to learn too, but kept messing the fingering up and ultimately gave up. But the tune stuck with her. Mido stared at Link in amazement.
"You really are Link!" He gasped. He stepped out of the way of the tunnel. "Saria needs help?" His face was chalk-white. "You'd better get in there quick!"
"Good of you to notice." But Sakina and Link wasted no more time in fleeing into the Sacred Meadow's entrance.
There was a tramping noise that seemed unusual for such a place. To both teenagers' horror, there were large monsters walking back and forth between the hedges and ledges leading to Saria's meadow. Sakina groaned and tugged out her bow.
"What are you doing?" Link tugged on her braid.
"Shooting it." She whispered. "Don't distract me. I have a plan." She shot the large creature right through its thin armor and it collapsed groaning to the ground. "We have to get on top of those," she motioned to the ledges. "Give me a boost up." Link wasted no time in arguing and lifted her so that she could climb up. She dangled over the side with her feet secured around the other side and gave Link a hand up. He couldn't believe how strong she was. They sat on top of the ledge and saw where they needed to go.
"There are so many of them," Link breathed, looking down at all the large monsters. They carried spears but looked pretty dull and witless. It was unlikely they would notice Sakina or Link as they hopped from ledge to ledge. They successfully evaded all of them until they mounted the steps to find the largest monster of all. And it carried a club that shook the ground.
"Holy crap," Sakina knocked her arrows quickly, trying to keep her feet steadily planted on the ground. "Hope he'll hold still long enough to let me kill him." And she shot, but all it did was make him stamp in pain. Biting her lip she replaced the arrow and shot again. The monster was even more furious and started howling. One more arrow took the great lug down. When he fell, Link and Sakina nearly followed suit. Link and Sakina grabbed onto one another for support, looked at each other, let go and ran up to the Meadow.
"That's the Forest Temple," Link muttered, pointing upwards.
"Ooh, how are we going to get up there?" She looked at the ledge. "We've never been able to reach that. Unless we get rope or a hookshot or something, we never will."
Fwish.
A black blur fell through the air and landed softly beside them.
"Sheik!" Sakina cried in astonishment.
The Sheikah looked reasonably surprised.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to teach Link the Minuet of Forest." Sheik said in a business-like tone. Pulling a harp seemingly out of the air, Sheik played the tune a few times until Link picked up the tune. "And in Kakariko, you will find your hookshot." Sakina looked at Sheik's right arm and saw a little circular bulge. Immediately, she started twisting her ring and thought to herself. Sheik looked down at that and her eyes smiled before she threw down a powder and with a crack, she was gone.
"How do you know Sheik?" Link asked, and Sakina stared pensively at the spot where Sheik had stood.
"Oh, I met her waiting around for you." It would make sense if she were Zelda…. Sakina thought quietly. "Well," she snapped out of her reverie. "I guess we'd better start back that way." She jerked her thumb unhappily over her shoulder towards the ever-pacing monsters.
"No, we don't have to walk," Link smiled. "At least, we shouldn't have to, if Sheik was right."
"What do you mean?"
"She taught me a warp song the first time we met. In the Temple. It's the Prelude of Light."
"How will I warp with you?" Sakina groaned.
"My clothes come with me, so I think if you were making contact with me, it'd work."
"So, I have to drape myself over you like a tunic?" Sakina joked, throwing her arms over his shoulders and linking her hands at his chest. "Play away, Mr. Hero."
Blushing, Link played the Prelude of Light and they felt themselves buzzing. It took only three seconds for them to materialize in the Temple of Time. Sakina withdrew herself from Link as he replaced his ocarina in his sack. They went to Kakariko Village, a place that Sakina hadn't been to for a long time. It had changed, and certainly not for the better. Everyone that had survived from Hyrule Market lived there now.
Sakina felt Link stiffen next to her. Though Sakina wasn't surprised at the downcast and gloomy town, Link didn't know what to think. First Kokiri had been mutilated but the spirits of Kakariko had once seemed nearly untouchable. The mood was so depressing that Link felt his heart take a turn.
"Come on, let's find this hookshot." Sakina urged. A man in dirty, torn clothes with a stubbly beard sitting desolately against a wall looked up at her after she said this.
"Dampe's hookshot?" The man said. Sakina realized that this man was hardly older than she was.
"What do you know about it?"
"Well, when I was younger I used to hang out in the graveyard. Before Dampe died, I mean. He found a hookshot before dying. You could try him."
"He's dead. What good would that do us?" Sakina asked bluntly.
"Visit his ghost in his grave." He said. "I'll lead you." The man got up and grabbed Sakina's wrist, tugging her in the direction of the graveyard. Link had to run after the pair of them rapidly, lest they leave him behind. Sakina wasn't sure if she approved of this man's style. She didn't take well to being grabbed like that. Besides, she knew the way to the graveyard.
Inside it was as though there was a permanent black cloud over the place. The boy didn't release Sakina's wrist, even when they had reached Dampe's grave. If anything, his grip had tightened, as though from fear. Link caught up to them, breathing a bit harder than usual. The boy was pointing to the grave with his free hand.
"You'll have to race him for it," he said. "And he'd never give it to a girl."
"What?" Sakina was offended.
"You can't challenge a ghost." The boy laughed. "Even Dampe knew that, and he lived with 'em up until he became one."
"I'll go," Link said softly, already moving the marker out of the way. "You wait here, Sakina, I'll be right back."
"Link!" Sakina objected, just as Link disappeared down the hole. She watched for a few moments until the headstone moved itself back into place. Then she looked to the man. "Thank you for leading us here. Will he come out through the same place?" She asked calmly, knowing what this man was thinking as he looked her up and down.
"No, he'll come out of the old windmill, if he survives."
"Okay. I'll go and wait for him there." She raised her eyebrows as he held determinedly onto her wrist. "What are you doing?"
"You're a Gerudo, aren't you? Don't you need to get pregnant or something?"
"No to both." She snapped, wrenching her hand away from him.
"Then why are you dressed like one?" He asked, taking a step towards her.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I was raised by them. So I know how to fight pretty well, sir." Her teeth were shut as she said this to him as coolly as she could.
"Well," he said continuing as though she had not just turned him down, "I need payment for my services."
"Oh come on, you don't think that we could have gotten advice for free?" Her cheeks were getting warm. "I see you're not well-off. How much money do you need?"
"I wouldn't take a lady's money." He said, eyeing her eagerly.
"But you would take her dignity? Wank off, you creep." She marched away. Before she knew what was happening, he was on top of her. And it wasn't long before she had him on the ground with her sword to his gullet. "You will never jump on a woman again. Do you hear me?" She hissed, right next to his face. He nodded, looking pale. She stood and walked away. He scampered off to Dampe's hut.
The lady who was allergic to cuccos was standing by the old windmill.
"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" She squinted at Sakina.
"I highly doubt it."
"All right." She continued to smile, unfazed by Sakina's cold reaction. "What are you doing around these parts?"
"Waiting for my friend."
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"You're pretty buff," the woman flexed a muscle to emphasize her point.
"I'm buff enough," Sakina said smoothly.
"Not too many men would be racing for a buff girl. Why do you do it?"
"It's their loss either way. I don't really care to have men pursuing me." Sakina grunted.
"Wow, really?" Her eyes were wide. "You are a Gerudo then."
"No, I'm not." Sakina stared at the woman as though she were the oddest sort she had ever met. "Goodbye." And she waltzed up to the windmill, wondering at the woman's peculiar behavior.
Sakina got inside of the windmill and glanced up to see that there was an opening in the wall further up. A man sat in the corner playing some bizarre contraption furiously. She paced over to him and said a quiet hello.
"Hello? Hello? Who says hello anymore? Huh? It's all trivial! All of it!"
Sakina didn't say a thing.
"Say, you didn't know the boy who shut this thing down, huh?"
Sakina shrugged.
"This tune! Gah! It ruined everything! EVERYTHING!" His eyes were bloodshot and his mouth permanently turned downwards. "Listen! Listen to this accursed song! Hah!" And he played it about twenty times in a row. Sakina thought she would go berserk listening to it. No wonder this guy was psycho! If he played nothing else all day, there'd be nothing else for him to become.
"Sakina!" A voice came from the ledge above. "I've got it!" Link jumped down.
"The tune! Agh! The tune!" The man raved.
"Let's get out of here, shall we?" Sakina muttered, dragging Link by the sleeve. Her head was pounding with the tune. It had become a brain worm. Keeping her jaw firmly clamped shut, she refrained from humming the tune at all. They walked down the steps and started to leave Kakariko. "Oh!" Sakina slapped her forehead. "We have to find Talon! I promised Malon I would!"
Link turned scarlet at mention of Malon's name, and Sakina felt her stomach burning. Envy? Maybe, she certainly hoped not. Link was allowed to have fancies. Besides, Malon was her best friend other than Link. Knocking on every door they passed, they looked for Talon. Finally, they heard snoring that seemed to hint where he was. His beard had taken on streaks of white and his face looked aged with worry.
Sakina poked him into alertness.
"Whoa! What now?" He roared. "Can't a man get some sleep around this dump?"
"Mr. Talon, do you remember me?" Sakina asked softly. "I'm Malon's friend, Sakina."
"You… you know Malon?" He rubbed his eyes. "Have you seen her lately?"
"Not for awhile." Sakina said. "She wanted me to come in to tell you she was all right."
Talon sighed. "She's sixteen now, she is. Beautiful, is she?"
"Yes," Sakina smiled.
"I'd like to see her."
"Maybe you can." Sakina said thoughtfully. "Link," she turned to face him. "We have to save Malon."
"How?" Link tilted his head.
"I don't know yet. But let's go."
Talon watched them through misted eyes looking confused. Before he could say a word, the friends had left the cabin and were fast on their way to rescue Malon.
Lon Lon Ranch looked as sad as ever. When the two companions entered the ranch, there was hardly a sound except for an occasionally whinny from a horse. Malon's usual humming wasn't heard anywhere. Sakina was hardly surprised, but Link looked devastated.
"In here," Sakina motioned to the barn door and they snuck in. Inside stood Malon, eyes wide as though off in another world from her imagination. "Malon," Sakina ran forward and grasped the girl tightly.
"Sakina! What are you doing here?" She breathed shakily into Sakina's shoulder.
"Link… he's back!" Sakina released her red-haired friend. Malon looked in awe at Link, eyes clearly moving up and down his form curiously. Sakina really felt something awful churning away in her stomach at this encounter, so spoke again. "We spoke to your dad. And we're here to save you."
"Daddy?" Malon's gaze snapped away from Link. "Is he all right?"
"He misses you. But yes, he's fine." Sakina smiled supportively.
"I can't leave Epona. Not now. Ganondorf is going to take Epona soon. I can't let her be hurt…." Malon's eyes watered. Link, to Sakina's surprise, spoke.
"I hear that a man's pride is in his belongings. Perhaps I could challenge the owner of this ranch to a gamble." Sakina stared at Link in wonder. He had never sounded so mature and… manly before. Even his mentality had gone to age sixteen!
Malon's eyes flashed. "Yes! Of course! Mr. Ingo would fall at that!" Before Link or Sakina knew what she was doing, Malon had grabbed Link's shoulders. "Go out there, ride Epona for awhile. He'll charge you, but it should work. If you're good enough, he'll race you for money! Nobody ever loses to him. If he lost… then he might just give up!"
"Sounds iffy to me. Link hasn't ever ridden before. And you saw me on a horse the first time." Sakina said awkwardly.
"We have to try," Link said boldly.
Malon clasped her hands together. "Okay! Good! Now go!"
There was a window through which Malon and Sakina stared at Mr. Ingo in all of his finery. He was wearing a velvet, red jacket and black riding pants and shiny riding boots. At his throat was a bunch of lace and in his hand a whip. A cap was perched jauntily on his egg-shaped head. Link looked positively rugged next to him, with his forest clothing and the sword and shield on his back. Sakina was crossing her fingers hopefully. Words were exchanged between Mr. Ingo and the teenager before money changed hands and Link stood in the enclosure. Epona trotted eagerly towards Link. After petting Epona's head for a bit, Link hopped on.
"He," Malon started, "unlike you, is a natural." They watched in awe as Link trotted around the fence, jumping over gates as though he had been doing so all his life.
"Yeah. That's kind of unfair."
"He's sort of like a knight," Malon sighed. "Without the shiny armor."
Pursing her lips, Sakina tried to think of something to say. "How's Micol?"
"Oh," Malon blushed, "he wants to get married." She giggled. "But I said not yet."
Inaudibly, Sakina released a nervous breath. Then she frowned deeply, wondering why she cared so much whether Malon felt romantic feelings for Link or not? A nasty little voice chided her in her ear. You like him that way, don't you? You want him all for yourself.
He's just a friend. She thought back to the voice angrily.
Link rode over by Mr. Ingo who said something to him. Link nodded and soon both he and Mr. Ingo were on horses, outside of the fences. And off they went! Malon grabbed Sakina's hand fretfully. Link, however, was riding a much better steed and seemed to have an ability that Mr. Ingo just didn't have. The first round went to Link, hands down. Both girls burst into excited laughter, hugging one another. As Mr. Ingo stomped furiously on the ground, purple in the face with fury, he said something to Link that he agreed with. Again, they raced around the gates. Mr. Ingo was trying to shut Link out but was failing dismally. Soon, Link had won again. Mr. Ingo screamed at Link and ran out of the enclosure, shutting and locking the gate.
"Aha! See him get out of there with that horse!" He was ranting madly.
Malon and Sakina ran out just as Link was jumping the fence right in Mr. Ingo's face.
"Kina!" He reached down and grabbed Sakina around the waist, pulling her up into his lap. Malon was beaming and Mr. Ingo was positively sobbing. Leaning off to the side so Link could see, Sakina grinned and waved goodbye to her friend.
"You did it! You did it!" Sakina laughed, kissing Link on the cheek. "Brilliant, talented boy!"
Link was blushing and laughing softly. Epona whinnied it what must have been triumph and rode to the forest as though with feet of air.